Legal Question in Personal Injury in Wisconsin

You are asking about a potential medical malpractice claim against the urgent care and the physician, and potentially the radiologist, if there was one who read the x-rays. Success in medical malpractice claims requires proof of both negligence and damages being caused the negligence. Negligence would usually be a "failure to provide the average standard of care" by the health care provider(s). If the health care provider(s) were negligent in not providing the average standard of care in properly diagnosing the fractured finger in your situation, then that might generally be a negligent act. The next question is whether a physcian is able to give you the opinion "to a reasonable degree of medical probability" that if the fracture had been diagnosed properly initially, that the care that would or should have been provided would have left you without the need for surgery or surgeries and/or without the ongoing pain and disfigurment which you are describing. It is possible that you might have still needed the surgery or surgeries anyway, even if the fracture had been initially diagnosed, however, that will require the physcian expert opinion. If the surgery or surgeries would have been necessary anyway, can the physician say that it would have healed and would have been functional and not deformed? Again, that will require expert opinions by a physcian. Please be aware that there is generally a three-year statute of limitations in Wisconsin which requires you to either settle your claims or commence a lawsuit within three years from the date of the negligent act, which might be the incorrect reading of the x-rays. There are also some mediation requests that need to be done prior to or at the time of filing a lawsuit, therefore, you should consult with a skilled attorney prior to filing a lawsuit, if you are able to obtain the expert opinions discussed above.